The Right Way
by Littlesister007
Summary: AU one-shot in nowadays situation. Steve and Natasha as a childhood friends in school. Little moments here and there of their friendship.


**DISCLAIMER: **The Avengers and Captain America belong to Marvel and Disney Studios. This story was created for entertainment only.

**AUTHOR NOTE'S: **I wrote this story quite long ago. It's about Glee TV series in a way, and well about a certain incident that happened to a Glee leading actor. Please forgive me, if I offended anyone. I hope you enjoy it.

**The Right Way**

It was dark night, no moon or starlight. The old neighborhood oozed nothing but silence. A boy no older than 13 year-old was looking outside a pale oak window from his bed room. If there was anybody walked on a narrow street and looked up at the blue house, he would think that the brown-hair boy with baby blue eyes was gazing at the depth of the night sky aimlessly. What could be so interesting? After all it was just a black outer space stretched to no end… little yellow light from a lamp on a night stand revealed a colorless face and knotted eyebrows of the boy. The eyes once was bright blue, now they were clouded with confusion, curiosity and more than a glimpse of sadness… How long had he been sitting there – He – himself didn't know. Though, he knew that his heart ached for reasons. The reasons of what once was, what could be and what will be… in these darkest hours before the dawn…

"Steve! I said put the iPad down and eat properly, you're going to be late for school!" Sarah scolded her son. "Steve did you hear me? Or you want to be grounded!"

"I don't believe this…"

"Oh! beli – What happened?"

Her sentence was cut short when she saw her son face emerged from the small screen with wide eyes and quivering mouth.

"Cory died, mom…"

* * *

It was half past noon when Steve and his friend Natasha walked into a cafeteria, but the place had been crowded already. The hot sunlight leaked in through glass windows, make the atmosphere even more uncomfortable.

"Ouch!"

A boy cried out when a bigger blond-haired boy shoved him against a locker and punched him in his gut. His face was as red as tomato from both anger and pain. A woman in a black blouse and a black pencil skirt rushed in.

"Detention room, NOW! Mr. Potter" she looked at the bully boy with narrow eyes, every inch of her body seeped fury and a sense of superiority.

"That's the fifth times for Harry, I'm surprise he is not expelled, yet" Steve shook his head.

"Well, his parent is one of school committee members, talking about funding" she answered lightly.

"Lucky for Jeff, Aurora was around" Steve eyes followed the woman until she was out of sight.

"Awww, you have a crush on her, don't you?" Natasha looked smug and nudged Steve with her elbow.

"Don't! it's not appropriate, you know, the teacher and student." Steve croaked and body was rigid.

"Now, you sound like her" Natasha rolled her eyes.

They slowly moved through the chaotic lunch battlefield, towards his usual shop painted in red, blue, and white. It was the one and only clean, healthy and delicious food loft in school for Steve.

"No way! Bravo closed"

Steve turned around to complain with Nat but she disappeared into the crowd and before Steve started to call her name, she called him from the opposite corner.

"STEVE, here" Nat barely waved her right hand, her eyes showed no sense of surprises. Steve walked toward her until they were side by side once again.

"Now, I don't know what to eat" Steve scratched behind his ear, awkwardly.

"Oh, come on don't make big fuss about it. Bravo just went to a music festival with his family" Natasha graced him with a side way glance.

"How did you know that?" Steve blurted out a little louder than he intended to.

"It's me, remember?" Natasha grinned widely.

"Fine, I will skip lunch"

"You have got to be kidding me."

Natasha clicked her tongue impatiently. "You have to eat only at that American flat shop, really?" Nat arched her eyebrow.

"Because it's clean and good!"

"Who told you that?"

"It has a Green Foods sigh right there, See!"

Steve pointed his index finger to a green-global label on the white shelf.

"Just because someone told you it's good, you believe it?"

"It's not just someone, it's a Food Club"

"How can you be sure that the organization is 100% right?

"It's proper food!" Steve rose his voice.

"So are we going to eat or not?"

**15 minutes later**

"All tables are full, I guess we have to share" Natasha tilted her to a table

They sat down and ate quietly as if they were invisible to a group that occupied the table earlier.

"Did you hear the news?" A brunette girl started

"I bet he knocked himself out with drugs" A blond guy hissed

"No! He quit it months ago! Besides, he was a good guy, he supported Virgin Unite and Young Story teller. They dedicate their resources to social benefit especially kids" An Asian girl pleaded

"So? Once an addict always an addict, that's all" The oldest boy in the group smirked.

* * *

**On school bus a few days later**

Steve was reading a penguin's classic book while Natasha was looking outside the window.

"I knew it! He died because of drug overdose." A boy snapped his finger and passed his cell to his friends. "Boo, loser!" Another guy shouted.

"There is no hotter news…How did you take it, Steve? I know he is your favorite." Natasha turned to face Steve

"I'm great, never better" Steve murmured with a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"Never better, huh? Let's do something fun this Saturday, I can go to your place and stay over for a night or two. I know my mom won't mind since I got straight As last semester. " Natasha finished her offer with a playful wink of an eye.

"You are an honor student, you never break rules and you managed to hear all the buzz news, somehow. You really know it all, Romanoff!" Steve chuckled, his voice edged with a tone of surprises. Natasha eyebrow rose before she replied with a smirk.

"Oh well, what can I say, I'm born with it, I am a good student and daughter!"

"Ugh, whatever red head, Steve grunted "My guest room and my picky mom always welcome you", his mouth tugged up slightly.

"I will tell her what you just said" She leaned in and whispered in Steve ear.

"Don't you dare!"

Steve said through his gritted teeth. Natasha just laughed loudly and openly.

* * *

**Late Saturday night**

"He is a disgrace for young generation"  
"He set example for all of us"  
"He only got himself to blame"  
"You never know"  
"He is a big jerk"  
"He is a fallen hero"

Numerous voices kept repeating over and over again like a mantra screamed in his head. Steve felt like he was drowning in the sea of memories, wary sounds and a sand glass of time that kept on turning upside-down. His heart tightened in his chest, his brain started spinning and he found his breathing unevenly. He was drifting …

Knock Knock!

Steve startled, a knock on his door interrupted his musing. He inhaled sharply as he didn't realize, he had been holding his breath. Steve walked from a window seat porch to open his bed room door and stepped aside in silent invitation.

"What are you up to golden boy?" Natasha teased as she walked into the white room.

"Nothing, I was just thinking" Steve answered plainly.

"Here," Natasha handed him a post card she made by herself "To pin on your board" she added with a smile.

It's a picture of Cory in his black and white tuxedo, wearing his brightest smile. It was complement with a quote.

'Real love is to stay alive even though you were gone.'  
\- Cory Monteith -

"Thanks, Nat, appreciate it"

Steve looked at the post card in his hand, a spark of hope ignited in his eyes. He pinned it on a board near his bureau while Natasha walked to the open window.

"It's a starless night, isn't it?" Natasha stated as she gazed outside the oak window.

"Irony, I know" Steve chuckled bitterly.

Natasha rested her head against the window as Steve sat beside her. Minutes passed before Steve spoke again.

"You know, what I really think…" Steven paused try to gather his scattered thought "I was thinking why the world is so cruel and fate does play heartless trick with us."

"People die everyday, Steve. Death is the simplest thing on earth…"

Natasha said calmly without shifted her eyes from the darkness of the night.

"I know, Nat, but it is hard to accept, whatsoever. It's even harder when it comes to those who die too soon" Steve sighed hard.

"Too young to die – Too wild to live" Natasha murmured to herself.

"Sorry?" Steve urged. This time Natasha met Steve eyes before she repeated her words slowly.

"I said…he is too young to die…but he is too wild to live…him and those who shared the same fair of hurt"

Natasha averted her eyes and Steve looked down. Wave of silence settled in, engulfed them like a thick unseen wall…their eyes glared back to the raven shade sky. It took a long time until one of them uttered another word.

"He doesn't always like that, you know, Harry" A sad smile was formed at the corner of Natasha mouth. "We used to live in the same neighborhood before I moved here. He was a nice boy, stubborn but not aggressive. His mother died a few years ago. His dad drown himself in alcohol and endless working hours."

Natasha turned her entire body to Steve. He blinked, his mouth opened in a small O shape.

"Rumor has it, Harry's mom was physically abused by his dad and he cheated on her so she killed herself in the end."

"I see…" Steve's eyes traveled on their own to the post card, and when their eyes met again he said "Maybe, they were born in the world full of rules and prejudices set by those who had lived here and had died even before their time. They don't want to accept that so they run and run and one day they decided to flee from this world forever…May be those people belong there…" Steve glanced at the sky.

"They belong in heaven where everyone is equal, even if we do the worst things God forgives us, still-where exactly who we are is just enough…"

Natasha only arched her eyebrow lightly and smiled.

"I know what you think" Steve said "You don't believe in God, Heaven and all those things, right?"

Natasha just arched her eyebrow even higher and her smile became a smirk, but she didn't say anything so Steve continued.

"Maybe, it's us who were condemned to live in this world and to endure all the pain and endless mess of being who we should be."

"You mean being proper humans, according to appropriate polices?"

Natasha teased and Steve laughed a little. Natasha dropped her gaze down for a short while before she seized his face with her emerald eyes again.

"I believe in Heaven and God…I believe that Heaven and hell is here" Natasha touched Steve forehead and "God is here" She put an open palm above the left side of his chest.

Steve was drinking in the words and grinned.

"So what do you think?"

"About?"

Natasha frowned, confused of the sudden question.

"This Cory's sad saga."

Natasha lowered her hand from his chest, turned back to the window.

"I don't know."

"Really? You have no idea this time"

Steve looked at her expectantly but Natasha answered dryly, refused to meet his gaze.

"I just pretend like I know everything, Steve…"

Another silent moment set in and they kept on peering at the empty sky. A family walked pass by. They properly just came back from a party, Steve thought since the man wore a suit and a tie, his right arm carried a little girl and the woman wore a little white dress, her left hand held a tiny hand of a young boy. Both kids dressed just like their parents.

"The Grown up know the right path, I guess,"

Steve is the one who awoke the stillness. Outside, the sun started to rise, colored the dusky sky with golden rays of morning light. Steve watched as all the colors blended. Natasha thought aloud.

"Sometime, I just wonder, is it right? – Is it always right?"


End file.
